Billionaire Babis again sworn in as Czech prime minister

PRAGUE – The president of the Czech Republic has again sworn in billionaire Andrej Babis as prime minister, a move that could see the Communist Party taking a share of power for the first time since the 1989 anti-Communist Velvet Revolution.

The centrist ANO (YES) movement led by Babis won a parliamentary election in October, but his minority government lost a confidence vote in January and had to resign.

President Milos Zeman appointed Babis for the second time on Wednesday. Babis is set to form a government with the Social Democrats and would also have support from the Communists, a plan protested Tuesday by thousands of Czechs.

Other parliamentary parties have been reluctant to join up with Babis because of fraud charges he faces. Babis denies wrongdoing.